Cholesterol Test

A cholesterol test measures the amount of “good” and “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides, a type of fat, in your blood. The test is also called a lipid panel or lipid profile.

Your body needs cholesterol to function properly. However, too much cholesterol can lead to heart disease, stroke and atherosclerosis, a clogging or hardening of the arteries. A cholesterol test will help show your risk of building up fatty deposits, or plaques, in your arteries that can lead to narrowing and blockages.

Why is a cholesterol test important?

There usually aren’t signs or symptoms of high cholesterol levels, so a cholesterol test is necessary to detect these levels. High cholesterol levels often indicate you are at risk of heart disease.

Triglycerides: A type of fat in the blood. Your body converts any calories it doesn’t need into triglycerides, which are stored in your fat cells. People who are overweight, have diabetes, eat too many sweets, smoke, drink too much alcohol or who are physically inactive can have high triglyceride levels.

For the most accurate results, you will likely be required to fast before the test. Fasting usually means no food or liquids other than water for nine to 12 hours before the test. Ask your healthcare provider for more specific instructions.

How can your cholesterol level be reduced?

You can reduce cholesterol levels with lifestyle changes, such as eating more heart-healthy foods and foods with fiber, exercising and increasing your physical activity, losing weight, quitting smoking and drinking less alcohol.

Locations

Facility Star Rating Description

Each patient’s experience at our practice is important to us. As we strive to provide the highest level of care, we value feedback on all aspects of the patient experience. This Medical GPS patient experience survey measures patient satisfaction from the time the appointment was made to the time the patient spent with the provider.

Recommend: The Recommendation rating reflects patients’ overall likelihood of recommending their provider to friends or family members.

Exam Thorough: The Exam Thorough rating reflects how satisfied patients were at the thoroughness and completeness of their examination and treatment.

Provider Answers: The Provider Answers rating shows the level of patient satisfaction on how the provider was able to answer questions and fully explain treatment.

Provider Concern: Provider concern measures the extent to which patients agree they were treated with courtesy, respect and concern throughout the entire examination.

Wait Reasonable: This rating measures patient satisfaction on the total time spent waiting for the provider.